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Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I read that bloodletting can actually save a stroke victim. We are quite aware that bloodletting, referred to in modern medicine as phlebotomy, was a popular medical practice since time immemorial up until the late 19th century. Bloodletting involves the withdrawal of often considerable quantities of blood from a patient in the belief that this would cure or prevent a great many illnesses and diseases.

A Mr. Liu of Fung-Gaap College in Tai-Chung is endorsing bloodletting for stroke victims. He said pricking the 10 fingers and letting out blood (pea-sized amount) will actually reduce the risk of burst capillaries due to pressure of the blood. He also said, that if the victim's mouth is crooked, pinching the ears till they turn red then pricking the lobes to let out blood will actually do good. He claims that this is 100% reliable since he has tried it. Here is his story:

I learned about letting blood to save life from Chinese traditional doctor Ha Bu-Ting who lives in Sun-Juke. Furthermore, I had practical experience with it. Therefore I can say this method is 100% effective.

In 1979, I was teaching in Fung-Gaap College in Tai-Chung. One afternoon I was teaching class when another teacher came running to my class room and said in panting, "Mr. Liu, come quick, our supervisor has had a stroke!" I immediately went to the 3rd floor. When I saw our supervisor, Mr.Chen Fu-Tien, his color was off, his speech was slurred, his mouth was crooked-all the symptoms of a stroke.

I immediately asked one of the practicum students to go to the pharmacy outside the school to buy a syringe, which I used to prick Mr. Chen's 10 fingers tips. When all 10 fingers were bleeding (each with a pea-sized drop of blood), after a few minutes, Mr. Chen's face regained its color and his eyes' spirit returned, too. But his mouth was still crooked. So I pulled on his ears to fill them with blood. When his ears became red, I pricked his right earlobe twice to let out 2 drops of blood. When both earlobes had two drops of blood each, a miracle happened. Within 3-5 minutes the shape of his mouth returned to normal and his speech became clear. We let him rest for a while and have a cup of hot tea, then we helped him go down the stairs, drove him to Wei-Wah Hospital. He rested one night and was released the next day to return to school to teach. Everything worked normally. There were no ill after-effects. On the other hand, the usual stroke victim usually suffers irreparable bursting of the brain capillaries on the way to the hospital. As a result, these victims never recover.

According to a medical magazine I read, bloodletting, historically speaking, may have been used to reduce the pressure of blood by reducing the volume of blood due to an absence of any form of treatment. I could liken it to letting off air from an over-pumped tire so as to prevent it from bursting. The medical article said that the historical use of bloodletting has been harmful to the patient. If you ask me, I think there is no harm in pricking the 10 digits of a suspected stoke victim. Just make sure that the needle is sterilized for wouldn't it be of great irony if the victim survives a stroke but is diagnosed with tetanus instead?

3 comments:

It is true that when your blood volume is low, your blood pressure could lower too but you'd have to have 10 needles so the person won't get sepsis from the introduction of microbes from his own fingers.

The harm is not in sticking them with an unclean needle, but KEEPING THEM FROM NEEDED MEDICAL ATTENTION! This idiot from an imaginary college (there is no Fung-Gaap College in Tai-Chung, I doubt he's even Chinese given how hard he's trying) suggests that you shouldn't get an ambulance for someone suffering a stroke because it will cause his brain capillaries to burst? NEWS FLASH! If he has a stroke, it already burst! Wasting time pricking someone's finger instead of getting them to the hospital just ensures they will suffer worse brain damage. Please do not follow that brainless advice.